Baptism is the promise that blesses us.

 

Sermon for Trinity 5, July 5, 2026

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  By his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Amen.

Mark 16:16  ¹⁶ “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (EHV)

Acts 2:38-39  ³⁸Peter answered them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  ³⁹For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call. (EHV)

Baptism is the promise that blesses us.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            Whenever we have confirmations, it can be tempting to imagine that the confirmands are renewing vows they made at their baptisms.  Yet, in reality, it is God who made a promise to them, and the confirmands are confirming their faith in His promise and forgiveness.  This morning, we look at the blessings of Baptism, and we say that Baptism is the promise that blesses us.

In our Gospel text, St. Mark reveals Jesus’ promise that “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.”  It is easy for the human nature to imagine (and throughout history many have taught) that this is a condition Jesus lays on the believer—that he must somehow come to faith and then be baptized in order to be saved.  However, other Scriptures make it clear that no one can come to believe in Jesus by his own power or effort.  Furthermore, it is only by God’s grace and election that any of us are brought into the Christian faith.

On the day of the first Pentecost of the Christian Church when God sent His Holy Spirit upon His apostles with flames of fire on their heads and the ability to speak in a multitude of languages, Peter preached law to a large crowd of Jewish believers at the temple in Jerusalem, and his preaching brought terror to their hearts for what they had done to Jesus in His crucifixion.  Those guilt-stricken men begged Jesus’ apostles, “Gentlemen, brothers, what should we do? (Acts 2:37)

Now, Peter’s answer sounds like he is giving instruction for the task at hand.  In contrast, however, he is inviting them to enter God’s mercy.  Peter answered them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  The command to repent is an invitation to turn around from trying to receive salvation through one’s own effort or goodness.  God is telling the sinner to change his mind, to give up on himself, and to trust in God’s mercy and kindness for the lost soul. 

This repentance doesn’t come to anyone naturally.  With our sinful nature, we are fully inclined to reject the accusation of sin, and to imagine ourselves less wicked and rebellious than we are.  This is why the Scriptures say that “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)  This too is a gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism, that He makes us aware that we need a Savior and empowers us to reach for Jesus to pull us up out of the muck and mire of sin.  When the reality of our guilt is revealed to us by the law, it finally drives us to despair of any goodness in ourselves.  Thus, the Spirit has us prepared to receive the grace of God that brings us faith in Jesus.

Last Sunday, we looked at Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, but to refresh our memories, we again hear Jesus say to that man, “Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God!  Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh.  Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:5-6)  Jesus instructed Nicodemus concerning entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.  Born of the flesh of our parents, we naturally inherit a sinful nature deserving condemnation.  Consequently, to enter into the glorious grace of heaven, we must be born from above.  This rebirth happens in Baptism. 

It is hard to imagine a greater gift of the Holy Spirit than to be reborn from above.  It is God the Holy Spirit giving new life to the formerly dead sinner and connecting that newborn with God through faith in Christ Jesus.  Recognizing God’s mercy in Baptism, we understand that many blessings are given through that marvelous work of the Holy Spirit.  In Baptism, God grants citizenship in His heavenly kingdom.  He gives forgiveness of sins for Jesus’ sake.  He grants to the believer life that does not end with physical death, and through the power of His Word, God gives us real comfort and a sure hope to carry us through any trial, struggle, hardship, loss, or pain.  Indeed, Baptism is the promise that blesses us.

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul lamented his inability to live without sin, but he took comfort in the fact of forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.  Through Jesus’ life and especially by His death on the cross, our sins were removed from us, and the just penalty for our guilt was paid for with the sacrifice Jesus made.  Then, in Baptism, we are cleansed of all our guilt, so that the psalmist could exult, “Yes, as high as the heavens are above the earth, so powerful is his mercy toward those who fear him.  As distant as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us.” (Psalm 103:11-12)  This led St. Paul to write in consideration of this divine cleansing of our souls, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For in Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

As you may well have experienced, there are many in this world who imagine that the gifts of the Spirit here promised are the miraculous extraordinary abilities the Spirit granted to those apostles: the ability to speak in previously unfamiliar languages, to heal the sick miraculously, and to endure snake bites, flames, and other such torments.  Those unique powers were given to the apostles foremost to show their connection with Jesus.  Yet, those miraculous sings were not guaranteed to continue.  Indeed, the evangelists give no record of any of those signs continuing after the apostles were called out of this world.

But faith remains.  As does love and caring and kindness to strangers.  This really is God’s promise to all who believe, that His gift of the Spirit will change us.  It removes our stone-dead sinful, unbelieving hearts and grants us a living faith.  The gift of the Spirit moves us to have a sure and certain hope of everlasting life in heaven.  Whether we face blessings or hardship in this world, whether we have good health or approach the grave in sickness, we have a sure certainty that Jesus has prepared a place for us in His Father’s mansions and that He is working all things for our eternal good.  We remember His promise that He is with us, that He sends His  angels to protect and keep us, that the Father hears our prayers for Jesus’ sake, and that He knows our needs and provides for them before we even know what to ask.

We are baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ.”  What this also means is that we are baptized into the name of our Savior and Lord.  We are baptized into a connection with Him that cannot be broken by our guilt nor be stolen by the devil’s deceits and accusations.  In Baptism, God puts His name upon us as a seal of His love.  That doesn’t mean we can sin freely nor ignore the dangers the devil imposes.  Rather, it opens the door to return to our Lord in every repentance freely given. 

Being baptized into Jesus’ name makes us the equivalent of the Prodigal Son in Jesus’ parable.  Though we often sin much, and sometime quite gravely, the Father in heaven remains ready and willing to receive us when His Spirit brings us to our senses and draws us back home in repentance.  Though we then deserve only servitude, the Father welcomes the repentant soul back into His household in loving forgiveness.  Therefore, whether we are repenting in private, fellow sinner to fellow sinner, or in a general confession as in our worship services, God the Father is rejoicing with the hosts of heaven over every sinner who repents and returns to trust in His love.

Another gift the Holy Spirit gives us in Baptism is the blessed ability to share God’s forgiveness with others.  Peter explained, “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call.”  God places no limits on His merciful kindness.  He puts no obstacles in the way for those He calls to believe.  When Jesus met with His disciples in the upper room, after His resurrection from the grave, “He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven.’” (John 20:22-23)  There is no age limit on either the upper or lower stage of life.  Infant baptism is equally as valid as a deathbed conversion and baptism. 

Every baptism relies on God’s mercy and grace, rather than in any merit or worthiness on the part of the person being baptized.  Baptism is God giving new life from above.  It is making the person a child of God, applying God’s name, and putting the Holy Spirit to work in that person’s life. 

What all this means is that through baptism, all of our sins are washed away and our guilt is forgiven.  It means we have peace with God.  We have His attention to our prayers.  Through the washing of water and the Word in baptism, we receive new life, new hope, new strength, and a new home in our Father’s eternal dwelling place.  In His peace, Baptism is the promise that blesses us.  Amen.

Now to him, who is able, according to the power that is at work within us, to do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!  Amen.

Baptism makes us God’s disciples and beloved children.

 

Sermon for Trinity 4, June 28, 2026

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.  Amen.

Matthew 28:18-20  ¹⁸Jesus approached and spoke to them saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  ¹⁹Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you.  And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” (EHV)

Baptism makes us God’s disciples and beloved children.

Dear beloved children of the heavenly Father,

            As we continue our walk through the Small Catechism, we come to the Sacrament of Baptism.  For the next couple Sunday’s we will examine various aspects of this sacred rite, and this morning’s reading leads us to the question, “What is Baptism?”  As I answer that question, my goal is to help you see that Baptism makes us God’s disciples and beloved children.

            In preaching on this text that is often called the Great Commission, it is somewhat common to emphasize the word, go!  What is always interesting to me is that the word translated that way is not a command.  Jesus emphasizes this work a little differently.  He has already told His disciples He was sending them out into the world.  He had warned them that they would face opposition and even danger, but also that He would send the Spirit to teach and empower them for the work.

Here, Jesus also promises that He will always be with those who proclaim His message.  Therefore, rather than just commanding them again to go, Jesus uses the interesting word that may most literally be translated, “Be discipleizing all the peoples.”  Now, I realize that we don’t have that word in English which is why you usually see it translated as make disciples, or here, gather disciples.  But the emphasis shows us not so much what we must do, but rather, what God will be doing through those He sends.  Nothing we are able to do will force someone to follow Jesus or to believe in Him.

Being a disciple means to follow a teacher so as to learn from that one as a mentor—to become a devotee of all he represents.  Therefore, to become a disciple of Christ requires the work of the Holy Spirit in us through the Gospel for “when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:4-5)

Naturally, throughout history there have been numerous instances of charismatic teachers who drew students to themselves.  Some attracted huge followings.  Some began new religions.  So, what makes Jesus different?  Jesus did not come into the world just to be a teacher, to rule a political realm, or to achieve some earthly fame or fortune.  He didn’t walk this earth just to lead people to a more moral lifestyle.  Instead, Jesus came to reconcile us with God and to restore to mankind the relationship and peace with God that the Lord God had originally established when He first created man.

When God created Adam, that man had a perfect faith and trust in God.  Along with that faith and trust, Adam was truly alive and in fellowship with his Creator.  That harmonious life was lost as a consequence of Adam’s fall into sin.  Thus, as you have heard me report so often, no human could restore that peace.  After the fall, we couldn’t even discover on our own who God is.  The imaginations of mankind have run wild ever since Adam disobeyed.  Some imagine there is no god.  Others have looked at everything that troubles or blesses us, and desiring to ensure that the good things keep coming, they devised schemes and ceremonies to appease whatever deity they imagined is controlling all this, and don’t for a minute pretend that the devil didn’t have a hand in promoting those pagan deceits.

Still, though separated from mankind by the sins of the world, God was actively carrying out His plan to provide reconciliation with us.  Now that Jesus had fulfilled every part of the law and the prophets and accomplished that goal from the point of His Father in heaven, the result is that reconciliation, salvation, and forgiveness had to be distributed among the people of earth still struggling under the torment and control of Satan and his underlings.  The ransom price had been paid with Jesus’ blood and sacrifice.  Now, it is time to separate the victims from the forces of evil.

St. Paul, the apostle Jesus sent to the nations, taught, “Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)  Since salvation is a gift, how or where does this saving faith come to us?  Remember, mankind’s natural condition: “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked when you followed the ways of this present world.  You were following the ruler of the domain of the air, the spirit now at work in the people who disobey.” (Ephesians 2:1-2)

Having been born in the condition of spiritual death and slavery under the devil’s deceitful control, we dwelled in the dark bondage of sin.  There are so many ways the Bible describes our horrible condition.  Israel’s slavery in Egypt is but another picture of our dreadful state of being.  We needed life and freedom and forgiveness of sins, but how to bring it to the people of the world?

That is where Baptism enters the picture.  Baptism is God’s chosen instrument to give us life in His eternal kingdom.  Early in His ministry, Jesus taught Nicodemus, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God!” (John 3:5)  As the Lord sent His apostles across the world, He was sending them out with the message of forgiveness and salvation that would bring people into His kingdom of grace.  Baptism is God giving rebirth from heaven. 

As Jesus told Nicodemus, “Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh.  Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)  The natural birth that brought us into the world gave us physical life, but that doesn’t include eternal life.  We needed that rebirth from God to enjoy His heavenly home. 

In the time of the apostles, a new baby was not considered part of the father’s household until that father accepted the child as his own.  They, of course, had no DNA test to verify whether the child was his, but legally, the Roman father could deny a child for any defect or any other reason.  The father could legally declare that disappointing child to be unwelcome in his house and set it out to die. 

We were all born with the defect of sin which made us naturally repulsive to God, so God had every right to condemn us all to the death of hell.  Yet, in His unlimited mercy and kindness through Baptism, God marks us as His own dear children.  In the Revelation given to St. John, the angels of destruction were commanded, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees until we have placed a seal on the foreheads of God’s servants.” (Revelation 7:3)

That picture is repeated several times in the Revelation showing God’s people marked with God’s name on their foreheads which applies very nicely to what we see in Jesus’ instruction to His apostles, “gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you.” 

We baptize in the name of the Triune God.  At the same time, God is baptizing us “into” His name.  In this act, God is claiming the sinner as His own beloved child made holy through the work and sacrifice and blood of His Son, Jesus.  Being baptized, we are no longer foreigners and aliens to God, because “The Father rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)  Thus, through the faith Baptism gives, God makes us His people, dearly loved and precious in His sight.

That being said, we are kept in that saving faith through the hearing of God’s Word.  Now, some might debate whether saving faith comes through Baptism or through the hearing of the Gospel.  Others might argue that you have to make that decision to believe, but ultimately, it is whether God has claimed you as His own child that truly matters in His everlasting kingdom.  No person will ever enter heaven based on his own merit.  Jesus warned Nicodemus, “No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.” (John 3:13)  Consequently, it is through our connection with Jesus through faith that we will enter heaven.  And, as you have heard before, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

At the time Jesus spoke the words of our text, the disciples were afraid they would never have Jesus in their lives anymore.  Yet, we have Jesus’ confirmation that through Baptism and the faith that His message of grace gives, Jesus is always with us.  As we keep His Word, that is to hold on to it in sincere faith, He says, “And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.”  Before going to the cross to suffer for your sins and mine, Jesus assured His worried disciple, “If anyone loves me, he will hold on to my word.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)

Dear friends, through Baptism and the faith it brings, God the Father has counted you as His own dear child.  Baptism is your entrance into the kingdom of heaven and the mark that God has made you His own.  By the power of God the Holy Spirit in the Gospel, you are being prepared for life in His heaven, for “By his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance that is undying, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.  Through faith you are being protected by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)  No matter the circumstances in which you may find yourself in this life, take heart for Baptism makes us God’s disciples and beloved children.  Amen.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God his Father—to him be the glory and the power forever.  Amen.

God the Father chose you for eternal life.

 

Sermon for Trinity 3, June 21, 2026

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

John 6:37 & 10:27-30  ³⁷Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out. … ²⁷My sheep hear my voice.  I know them, and they follow me.  ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one will snatch them out of my hand.  ²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.  No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.  ³⁰I and the Father are one.” (EHV)

God the Father chose you for eternal life.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            In his explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed, Martin Luther wrote, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”  As we continue our catechism review, our topic today is the doctrine of election—the Scriptural truth that from before time began, God the Father chose you for eternal life.

The doctrine of election has often led to much contention and controversy even though it is intended to be a source of comfort for Christians.  The Lord wants us to be confident in the relationship we now have with God through faith in Jesus.  However, there are always those around who want to use the idea of God’s election for some other purpose.

Some have falsely taught that God chooses people to believe based on His anticipation that the person will believe in Him.  This is what caused the election controversy that split our synod back in the 1880s, but by the grace of God our congregation stayed faithful to the truth of God’s Word, even when a larger portion left us to follow the false teaching.  Rather than go along with the false teachers, our forefathers held to the truth that God saves solely because of His love and mercy.  Still, God chose us, not because of any good or merit in us, but because He is good and merciful to sinners through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Some have falsely taught that God’s election is based on the decisions people make.  The idea is that we become God’s sheep because we chose Him.  Yet, there are plenty of Scriptures that point out our complete inability to chose God or come to Him on our own.  Even the Jewish people to whom Jesus was speaking in our sermon text thought themselves members of God’s flock, but Jesus pointed out that they were not God’s sheep because they refused to believe Jesus’ words.

Still others have falsely taught that in God’s election of believers, He has also elected some to be damned.  This sounds logical to our fallen human intellect—if God chose some to be saved, then logically, it is assumed He must have decided not to choose others.  However, this idea contradicts what the Scriptures teach, for the Holy Spirit caused Paul to write, “God our Savior, … wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)  Consequently, Jesus’ sheep are content to let these two teachings of our Lord stand side by side as equally true: God has before time began elected those who believe in Jesus as His own dear sheep, and conversely, those who do not believe were not chosen by God to be damned, but rather, it is solely their refusal to believe God’s Word that sends them to destruction.

Essentially, because God is God, there are things about Him and His ways that are beyond human understanding, yet God is always faithful to His Word.  Therefore, let us examine what Jesus has to say about God’s election of His people.  To those who rejected Him, Jesus declared, “Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out.”  This is simple enough for anyone to understand.  Those who believe in Jesus do so because God worked faith in that person through the power of the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament. 

Furthermore, because God gives us to Jesus as a reward for His faithfulness, Jesus, who is ever true and faithful, will never reject us nor do anything to drive us away.  Continually, He stands ready to receive us in repentance as precious sheep in His Father’s flock.  And, because Jesus has done everything needed to restore mankind to the image of God he possessed in the Garden of Eden, the psalmist boldly declares, “You make him the ruler over the works of your hands.  You put everything under his feet.” (Psalm 8:6)  Therefore, Jesus is both our Savior and our Defender, standing between us and the demons of the world that would harm us or separate us from His love.

So, how does a person know whether he or she is a member of God’s elect.  It is really quite simple.  Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.  I know them, and they follow me.”  This is the result of God electing to work faith in the hearts of those who hear His Word.  Solely through faith in Him, we are welcomed into Jesus’ flock.  “So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)  Look at the evidence.  Man did not create the world or put people in it.  God did that.  And mankind could not rescue themselves from God’s wrath after falling into sin; therefore, God provided the needed reconciliation through His Son.

Once sin entered the world, our relationship with God was severed and we no longer knew God nor how to please Him.  Our consciences tell us we deserve His anger, but we had no idea how to fix the relationship nor even who the true God is.  No doubt many cultures and civilizations have tried to devise ways to please whatever gods they imagined.  Many have tried to entice the fates to benefit their lives here on earth.  Yet, the death sentence hung over all people, because “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” (Ezekiel 18:20)  However, perfectly in tune with His love, mercy, and grace, God the Father chose you for eternal life.

Jesus declared boldly to His enemies, “My sheep hear my voice.  I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.  No one will snatch them out of my hand.”  It was a promise that should have elated the Jews opposing Jesus that day, but because they were not sheep of His pasture, they continued to fight against Him.  And that, dear friends, is the tragic example of those who refuse to believe in the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.  As they reject Jesus, so the Father rejects them.

Though God the Father desires that all the lost should believe in Jesus and be saved, many refuse the marvelous gifts of God’s grace.  They are not in the heavenly flock because they have rejected the promises God makes throughout the Scriptures.  That doesn’t happen because the Holy Spirit doesn’t do His work, or because the Gospel isn’t powerful enough to raise the dead sinner to life, nor does a soul reject Jesus because God didn’t want that person in His flock.  It happens solely because of a lack of trust in the Word of our Lord.  Now, that can happen for any number of poor reasons, bad decisions, or wicked lusts.  Yet, God builds His flock, His Church, through faith and only through faith.  Saving faith never comes to anyone because of His own effort or choice.  Saving faith comes as the Holy Spirit, through Word and Sacrament, transforms the sinner’s stone-dead heart and replaces it with a heart of flesh that lives by faith.

The comforting part of God’s election for us is that not only did God choose us from eternity to be saved and worked all things throughout history so that you and I would have a Savior, then hear about Him and believe, but our Lord and Savior continues to defend us from the wiles of the devil, the temptations and cruelties of the world, and our own weak flesh.  Jesus promised the people, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all.  No one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” 

For all the times we have doubted, worried, feared, or betrayed our Savior, God the Father was still holding us in His love.  He took all our guilt, all our sins, transgressions, and rebellions, and He charged them to Jesus.  In love, God the Son bore the punishment of death on behalf of all the world.  There is not one sinner ever for whom Jesus did not pay.  Jesus taught the crowds that followed Him, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-16)  Jesus was sacrificed for the world, for every person, for every sinner, ever.

The final argument in the teaching of election is Jesus’ explanation: “I and the Father are one.”  Now, some have used this statement to falsely teach that Jesus was saying there is only one person of God, but that doesn’t fit what He says.  Though each are a separate person, Jesus and the Father, along with the Holy Spirit, are one true God, of one substance, with one goal, one mindset, and a single commitment to save sinners through faith in the Son. 

Because He loves the Father and loves and does only what His Father desires, Jesus restored the peace with God that Adam and Eve had enjoyed before their fall into sin.  Likewise, because Jesus is the new Adam (or new Man) who restored perfect harmony between God and the human race, Jesus continues to do everything needed to keep the sheep of His flock in perfect fellowship with God, interceding for us with His Father, and turning away the devil’s accusations, so that our sins and guilt can never separate us from God’s love.

Through Jesus, the record of our guilt has been washed clean.  What remains is the righteousness Jesus lived for us and those things the Spirit has worked in us to believe and do.  What gives us true everlasting peace and joy is that the Father and Son are One in working forgiveness and salvation for all who will believe because God the Father chose you for eternal life.  Amen.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.  Amen.

Believe in the Son, Who laid down His life for us.

 

Sermon for Trinity 2, June 14, 2026

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God his Father—to him be the glory and the power forever.  Amen.

1 John 3:16-23  ¹⁶This is how we have come to know love: Jesus laid down his life for us.  And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers.  ¹⁷Whoever has worldly wealth and sees his brother in need but closes his heart against him—how can God’s love remain in him?  ¹⁸Dear children, let us love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth.  ¹⁹This is how we know that we are of the truth and how we will set our hearts at rest in his presence: ²⁰If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  ²¹Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.  ²²We also receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight.  ²³This then is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love one another just as he commanded us. (EHV)

Believe in the Son, Who laid down His life for us.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,

            In the last two Sundays, we considered the Holy Spirit in the Third Article of the Apostle’s Creed.  Today, again, we study the work of the Holy Spirit in the holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints.  The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier of Christ’s people.  That means He makes us holy by bringing us to justifying faith in the Son, that He cleanses us of sin for the sake of Jesus who lived and died on our behalf, and the Spirit maintains that faith in us through His Word.  To do all this, the Spirit works in the Church through Law and Gospel to bring us to Believe in the Son, Who laid down His life for us.

The role of the law in the Christian Church has sometimes been a contentious subject.  There are many who claim that if one is a Christian, he would never sin.  They assume that knowing better, and if we are to live like Christ, we should never fail.  At the same time, some have gone so far as to say that good works are necessary for salvation, arguing that justification before God requires some effort on our part.  In opposing that error, a few fell into a ditch on the other side of the way by imagining that obedience to the law is detrimental to salvation.  In either case, experience soon shows that this desire to have perfect self-righteousness is an impossible dream for anyone.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, St. John wrote, “This is how we have come to know love: Jesus laid down his life for us.  And we also should lay down our lives for our brothers.”  Jesus Himself said, “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you.  No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13)  The second great command is that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.  No one in his right mind dare deny this, but how are we to live it?  The point in all of this is that we are to put the needs of our neighbors and especially our brothers and sisters in faith ahead of our own needs or selfish desires.  It will often feel difficult to live up to this, for we live in a world troubled by greed, selfishness, and worldly excess.  It is therefore quite easy to push the needs of the less fortunate on to someone else.  Let the government handle it or make the rich share more.  Yet, God’s command is for us to show that love and mercy.

Indeed, John continued, “Whoever has worldly wealth and sees his brother in need but closes his heart against him—how can God’s love remain in him?  Dear children, let us love not only with word or with our tongue, but also in action and truth.”  Most likely, you have been bombarded with requests for charitable giving.  Certainly, there are people in need all over the world.  How are we to decide what we should give or who to give it to?  Must we give away everything we possess to satisfy this command?  No doubt, John is telling us to be faithfully kind in sharing the blessings God gives us with those in need around us.  At the same time, God pours out physical blessings upon His children for their welfare and health.  We are to make wise use of His gifts.

In all things, however, it is necessary that we don’t get wrapped up in just the physical elements of the world.  We live in a country where people often assume themselves to be poor if they don’t have the latest and greatest cell phone.  In other words, our view of real poverty is often askew.  Yet, when there are real needs, we should by all means respond, so the question must be asked, what is our greatest need?

The answer to our greatest need is Jesus.  He alone has always loved perfectly.  Jesus is also the answer to our neighbor’s greatest need for we all need the righteousness Jesus lived for us and the forgiveness He earned on our behalf with His sacrifice on the cross.  This is also how good works enter the picture.  The works we do are not good in God’s eyes if they are not done out of faith in His Son.  Every other reason to do something that looks good is selfishness playing out.  St. Paul wrote, “If I give away everything I own, and if I give up my body that I may be burned but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3)  Therefore, while we never want to ignore the physical needs of those around us, our better focus is to seek the spiritual health that comes only through faith in Jesus.

John wrote, “This is how we know that we are of the truth and how we will set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” 

When our hearts and minds and eyes are focused on Jesus and what He has done for us, His Spirit dwelling within us will motivate us to do what is right.  More than that, it is the Spirit working in us that keeps us trusting in Jesus for righteousness and peace.  Good works are not necessary for our salvation, because Jesus has already accomplished everything needed to make us right with God.  Still, the Lord leaves us in this world to serve as His hands of mercy and kindness, and our good works are the evidence that faith and salvation are at work in us.  When our hope is in Jesus and not are in our possessions, it will not trouble us to part with things our neighbors need.

Plus, as John noted, God knows everything going on in our world.  He knows our weaknesses and our selfish concerns.  God has already long known when and where we would fall short of righteousness.  That is why Jesus came into our world—to be the righteousness we need.  Jesus lived His days on earth showing kindness and mercy to the weak and helpless that surrounded Him.  Note, though, that Jesus didn’t cure every trouble in the world, nor did He eliminate poverty and hunger.  That is because Jesus came first and foremost to make us acceptable to God in His eternal kingdom.  Therefore, by His perfect obedience to all God the Father desired, Jesus lived for you and me.  And again, in perfect obedience to His Father’s will, and our greatest need, Jesus willingly bore our sins and shame to the cross, so that He, the Son of God and Man, would in our place, suffer the punishment of death that the law required for sin.

Now, this does not at all allow anyone to ignore the needs of his neighbor.  God knows our needs and the needs of those around us.  He also puts those people in our lives, at times, to demonstrate to them His love for all people through His beloved children made holy by faith in Jesus.

So, what does it mean when the Word says, “If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”  It means that God has forgiven all our sins through His Son.  It means that when we feel the guilt of our shortcomings we should run to Jesus in repentance and receive that mercy that only He can give.  As He said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)  Thus, we again recognize that good works are not needed to save us.  However, they are needed for the good of those God has enabled us to help, and the Holy Spirit by His Word empowers us to care and to do.

We then read from John’s letter, “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.  We also receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight.”  Because of Jesus’ sacrifice and the faith in Him that the Holy Spirit has worked in us, we can go about our days at peace, first of all at peace with God and the law, and secondly at peace with giving from the rich blessings God pours out on us so that others might be helped physically, but even more so, that our good works will lead others to seek Jesus for life and salvation.  When we trust in Jesus for forgiveness and life, any works the Spirit motivates us to do for others are “good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

Ultimately, John concluded, “This then is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love one another just as he commanded us.”  Through faith in Christ, we are adopted into God’s family, and Jesus equates the Church with His body.  Therefore, being the body of Christ our Lord, the desire to help will be there, even when our flesh is weak.  Still, history is filled with examples and evidence that the Gospel is spread when the Christian Church surprises the world through its good works: works such as faithful obedience to the Scriptures, generosity to the hurting, hungry, and weak, kindness to strangers, faithfulness to family and to our God, freely forgiving our fellow believers without resentment or retribution, trusting God to provide what we need no matter our circumstances, and submitting to whatever this world throws against us—whether persecution, famine, or war—because we know without any doubt that our God and Savior is working all things for our everlasting good.

Dear friends, our God provides everything we need for body and soul.  So when we have opportunity to share our riches with others, remember how Jesus assures us, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’  For the unbelievers chase after all these things.  Certainly your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33)  Our good works are certainly important in this sin damaged world, but it is the work of the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament that has given us forgiveness of all sin, peace with God, and life everlasting in His heaven.  Therefore, trust Him; Believe in the Son, Who laid down His life for us.  Amen.

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus—to Him the glory now and forever.  Amen.

Enlivened, saved, created, and built up in mercy.

 

Sermon for Trinity 1, June 7, 2026

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.  Amen.

Ephesians 2:4-10, 19-22  ⁴But God, because he is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trespasses.  It is by grace you have been saved!  ⁶He also raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  ⁷He did this so that, in the coming ages, he might demonstrate the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  ⁸Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.  ¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them. … ¹⁹So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household.  ²⁰You have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the Cornerstone.  ²¹In him the whole building is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.  ²²In him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (EHV)

Enlivened, saved, created, and built up in mercy.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            “Like all the others, we were by nature objects of God’s wrath.” (Ephesians 2:3)  These are the words St. Paul uses to introduce us to the blessings of God’s mercy and grace.  It truly is amazing, astounding really, when you consider how we, who deserved only God’s wrath and condemnation, have been richly blessed by the mercy God shows us through the power of His Word as provided by the Holy Spirit who worked in us to bring these gifts into our hearts which caused Paul also to exclaim, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how untraceable his ways!” (Romans 11:33)  In view of the love of God for us, we celebrate how we are Enlivened, saved, created, and built up in mercy.

Now, many may ask, why would we be considered objects of God’s wrath?  Why does God count children as guilty before they have even begun to cause trouble in the world?  Why does God have the right to judge us or rule over us?  In answer, we must recognize that people polluted by sin cannot produce pure and holy offspring.  Plus, the devil has certainly continued to influence people with his lies.  Therefore, sin infects every one of us.

But, why does God have the right to judge us?  Even though so much of our modern world imagines that the world created itself, this world has become a society of fools, because regardless of what the educated elite might imagine, God created this world and everything in it and still sustains it.  Now, He has been kind enough to allow even those who reject Him to live and have opportunity to come to faith and be saved, but when the end comes, God, as Creator, will exercise His rightful authority to judge all people.

Why then, does God count even newborn babies as objects of wrath?  Again, we must recognize the truth that children are born of the same flesh as their parents and in that flesh, they inherit the same weaknesses, faults, and natural rebellion against God.  Because sin has corrupted all parts of creation, not one child has ever been conceived without sin except Jesus who is the Son of God.  Everyone else has needed to hear the Good News about Jesus and all He has done for us before having any faith or trust in the God who has given us physical life in this marvelous creation.  Consequently, David rightly observed, “Certainly, I was guilty when I was born.  I was sinful when my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5)

So, why were we all once counted as objects of God’s wrath?  Because we all have sinned against Him.  Our inherited sinful nature leads us away from trusting God.  From birth, our desires are selfish.  Even in our best moments, selfishness creeps in keeping us impure before our holy God.

All of this should make it obvious to us how amazing God’s love truly is.  St. Paul observed, But God, because he is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trespasses.  It is by grace you have been saved!”  Oh, the words we could explore here.  God is so rich in mercy, so overabundantly kind to people who don’t deserve it, that He sent His Son Jesus to live holiness on our behalf and to suffer the ultimate torment of hell in our place so that the Holy Spirit could work forgiveness and redemption in our hearts.  We remember how God had promised to give new hearts and new spirits in His people.  This is what He has done for each of us.  God shows how one sided His love for us really is, in this, though we were dead to Him in sin, He washed us clean and enlivened us through the power of His Spirit in Word and Baptism.

“He also raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  He did this so that, in the coming ages, he might demonstrate the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  What an amazing promise the Holy Spirit gives us, and what God promises is always immediately as good as done.  Just as Jesus was raised from the dead that first Easter morning, so God already counts us as having been raised to new life and a new home in heaven. 

Justified (that is declared righteous) by faith in His Son, God counts His people holy, innocent, and prepared to dwell in His presence forever, not because of anything good in us, but because Jesus has already accomplished righteousness for us all.  Just as Paul was moved to write to Titus, we have this confidence, “based on the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” (Titus 1:2)

Again, all of this is the work of the Holy Spirit, who is sent by the Father and the Son to work faith and sanctification in us.  In his explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed, Martin Luther wrote, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; just as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”  This is perfectly in line with what the Holy Spirit breathed into Paul as he wrote, “Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them.” 

Grace is undeserved kindness that moves God to give us what we don’t deserve.  Instead of condemnation for our guilt, God charged our misses, shortcomings, transgressions, and rebellions against His own dear Son, so that by the death of Jesus, He could count us free of all guilt.  Faith is that confidence and trust in the Triune God that the Spirit grants to us through the hearing of the Gospel.  When hearing what Jesus in His great love for us downtrodden sinners has done for us, the soul sorrowing over sin and repenting of faults and shortcomings receives, through the action of the Holy Spirit, a breath of life and a stream of cleansing, life-giving water that drowns the old man of sin and raises us up for immortality.

Through the hearing of the Good News and the washing of Baptism, the Holy Spirit is building up a new temple for God crafted of the souls of the newly spiritually alive believers as living stones.  If you look at the outside walls of our church made of brick, you will see that the bricks all look pretty much one like the other, other than a slight variation in color.  However, when constructing this magnificent temple for the Lord God Almighty, the Holy Spirit takes of a wide variety of stone-dead hearts from every land and nation all over earth, gives them life, and chipping away any rough edges, then by molding and shaping, He aligns them into a perfect fit in the holy temple for our God, perfect in His design.

Consequently, Paul writes, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them. … So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household.  You have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the Cornerstone.”  Jesus alone aligns us so that His goals become ours.  His righteousness makes us righteous and perfect in the eyes of God who commissioned this temple.  Furthermore, a person’s background, nationality, color of skin, or previous guilt do not matter, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)

It is by Jesus’ holy life and innocent death, that the Father in heaven has dealt with the sins of the world.  With a love that considered only our need for salvation, He sent Jesus to be the Holy One of God.  Then, the Father counted Jesus as sin in our place.  All our guilt piled on Jesus left us clean and holy before God.  Thus, it is in this temple of sanctified souls that the Holy Spirit continues His work of calling, gathering, enlightening, and enlivening the formerly lost and condemned sinners still roaming the earth.

Again, explaining the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church, Luther wrote, “In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives me and all believers all our sins; and at the last day He will raise up me and all the dead, and will grant me and all believers in Christ eternal life.  This is most certainly true.”   This is our hope and our salvation, that through faith in Christ, God has justified all who believe in Him.  He counts each Christian believer as righteous and holy and welcome in His presence for eternity.  None of this came because of actions we might take.  Rather, it is in the Church He has built, through the work of the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament, that the Lord continues to gather souls for His Father’s glory. 

From everlasting to everlasting, God is God.  From everlasting, He has been working all things so that His Church, the assembly of all true Christian believers, might be brought into His eternal glory through faith.  Only faith saves.  Faith in Christ Jesus, alone, who is “the way and the truth and the life,” (John 14:6) is what transforms the unrighteous into the righteous, holy ones of God, perfectly aligned and mortared together into a holy temple for the eternal glory of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  As holy, precious, and beautiful to God as the gems and precious stones of Solomon’s temple, from everlasting to everlasting, may we celebrate how we are Enlivened, saved, created, and built up in mercy.  Amen.

Now to him who is able to strengthen you—according to the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, . . . to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ.  Amen.